2011 Maryland Medical Malpractice Claim Settled Out of Court

Most people have some anxiety about going to the dentist or getting surgery. When it comes to very minor surgeries like wisdom tooth extraction, however, most people go into the procedure knowing that they will emerge completely fine, albeit a bit groggy, a short time later.

Unfortunately, that was not the case for 17-year-old Jenny Olenick of Woodstock, Maryland. On March 28, 2011, Jenny went in for a simple surgery to remove her wisdom teeth. During the procedure, she suffered a serious brain injury and went into coma; she died ten days later.

Cathy Garger and John Olenick, Jenny’s parents, brought a civil suit against the anesthesiologist (Dr. Krista Michelle Isaacs), the oral surgeon (Dr. Domenick Coletti), Central Maryland Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, PA, and Baltimore Washington Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Center, LLC (Coletti’s practices), and Safe Sedation, LLC (Isaac’s practice setting). The suit claims that the doctors’ failure to revive Jenny after her heart rate slowed to a dangerous rate, which cut valuable oxygen supplies to her brain, was the reason for her death.

Defense attorneys claimed that Jenny Olenick had suffered from preexisting mental and physical health problems that may have led to her death, such as stress and anxiety. This was debunked by the autopsy that proved she was “healthy…with no significant medical history.” The defense also tried to make Jenny Olenick’s medical records public in court, but Garger and Olenick objected.

The claim was settled this week out of court, which is common in medical malpractice cases.